Royce Lewis was pulled for a pinch hitter late Sunday as the Minnesota Twins held on for a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Target Field, another sign that his season is veering in the wrong direction. Trevor Larnach hit for Lewis in the eighth inning after Lewis struck out three more times and finished as part of a lineup that needed every run it could get.
The day was rough from the start for Lewis. He struck out to end the first inning after swinging at nine of the 10 pitches he saw from Robert Gasser. In the sixth, he twice tried to bunt for a hit and fouled off both pitches before striking out on the next pitch from Grant Anderson. The three-strikeout game left Lewis hitting.133/.189/.191 with 25 whiffs in 68 at-bats since coming off the injured list on April 21. He has struck out 10 times in 30 plate appearances over his last eight games, and his strikeout rate this season is 31 percent, well above the 22 percent mark he carried into the year.
Manager Derek Shelton said Lewis is “grinding a little bit, maybe a bit of overswinging,” and added that players sometimes try to do too much when they do not have their best swing. He also said, “It’s challenging when you’re going through a tough stretch” and stressed that the team’s job is to keep encouraging him and stay positive. Shelton’s comments came after Lewis had already spent time working in the cages with the Twins’ hitting coaches, trying to find something that will stop the slide.
The struggles have not come in isolation. Lewis committed an error Saturday night when he missed what should have been an inning-ending double play ball in the fourth inning of a one-run loss, adding another hard moment to a stretch that has only intensified the scrutiny around him. Earlier this month in Washington, Lewis suggested the people making decisions for the club are hoping he fails so they can write him off and move him to the minors or trade him. That kind of frustration now hangs over every rough at-bat.
The Twins have options if they decide to act. Veteran infielder Orlando Arcia, who is batting.318/.376/.556 with eight home runs for the Saints, could be called up, though Minnesota would need to free a spot on the 40-man roster to add him or Triple-A shortstop Kalen Culpepper. The organization still views Culpepper as a long-term solution and wants to give him more time to develop, which leaves a move to St. Paul as a real possibility for Lewis. Matt Wallner was recently sent to Triple-A, and it would not be a surprise if Lewis got the same treatment, a change that would let him work on his swing without the pressure that comes with every major league at-bat. Shelton said the club must keep working and supporting him, adding, “The biggest thing we have to do is continue to encourage, continue to work, continue to stay positive. … It would be different if he wasn”
For now, the Twins are winning around him. The question is how long they can keep Lewis in the middle of this before they decide that a reset, not another day in the lineup, is the next move.
